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ENO music director resigns over planned orchestra cuts
The Independent
|October 17, 2023
The English National Opera is facing upheaval after its music director quit suddenly over proposed funding cuts.
Martyn Brabbins announced his resignation on Sunday, saying proposals by management in the wake of Arts Council England "interference" would "drive a coach and horses" through the company’s artistic integrity. “I cannot in all conscience continue to support the board and management’s strategy for the future of the company,” Brabbins, 64, said in a statement released by his management.
The organisation proposed on 13 October to axe 19 orchestral positions and employ its remaining musicians on part-time contracts after a loss of the company’s arts council funding, which sparked protest from the Musicians’ Union.
It follows a decision made by Arts Council England in 2022 that the ENO – based in central London – would lose all of its £12m funding unless it moved out of the capital. After public outcry from the music community, it was announced in July that extra money and more time had been found and that a new business model was being developed.
This story is from the October 17, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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